Car-fender.



. A. POZZI.

GAR FENDER.

ABPLIOATION FILED QOI'.26, 1911.

Patented J an. 23, 1912.

2 $HEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES IN'VENTOR- A. POZZI.

GAR FENDER.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.26,1911.

'P' Lented Jan. 23, 1912.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

1N VE/V TOR W] NESSE A Home COLUMBIA PLANUGRAPII cu.. WASHINGTON. u. c.

33 of Fig. 2;

ALOYSIUS POZZI, OF TRENTON, NEW JERSEY.

GAR-FENDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 23, 1912.

Application filed October 26, 1911. Serial No. 656,852.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALoYsIUs Pozzi, a citizen of the United States, residing at Trenton, in the county of Mercer and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car-Fenders, of which the following is a full, clear, and

exact specification.

This invention relates to fenders and has special reference to devices placed upon street cars to prevent persons, who may happen to be struckby the cars, passing under the cars and being exposed to serious injury by the car wheels.

The object of the invention is to provide a device which will operate automatically to hold the person who may be struck until the car has been stopped, which may be readily applied to or removed from any car, which will be sightly in appearance, and of simple construction and operation so that it will not readily get out of order.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and will be hereinafter fully described with reference to the same, the novel features being distinctly pointed out in the claims at the end of the description.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a plan view of a car fender embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional plan view (the retainer being removed forsake of clearness), the section being taken on the line Fig. 4 is a detail vertical transverse section taken just in front of and looking toward the carrying rollers.

, In carrying out my invention, I employ a pair of brackets 1 which may be given an ornamental form and are provided with downturned hooks 2 on their rear edges to engage eyes or perforated lugs on the dashboard or vestibule of the car, as will be understood. The brackets are connected by cross bars 3 and to the front sides of these cross bars I weld or otherwise secure a pluralityv of spring plates 4 which are arranged close together and extend from the cross bars in parallel planes. These plates project above and below the cross bars and their lower portions are carried forward to form a low receiver scoop or yieldable platform, the front ends thereof being turned downwardly, as shown at 5, to form guards which prevent a person or object on the track passing under the fender. In rear of the front extremities of the plates 4, I provide on the under sides of some of them, bearings 6 in which is mounted an axle 7, rollers or small wheels 8 being fitted on the ends of the axle to run on the track rails and thereby aid the brackets 1 in supporting the fender. These rollers also serve to keep the fender off the ground and facilitate its travel positively over the rails.

A retainer 9 is hinged or pivoted upon the scoop or platform directly over the axle 7 the said retainer being preferably in the form of a screened frame mounted to rock upon its pivotal or hinged connection with the scoop and so disposed that its front portion lies normally upon the scoop and its rear portion projects upwardly therefrom as shown in Fig. 2.

The upper portions of the spring plates or leaf springs 4 are carried forward and downward, as shown at 10, and then rearward and upward, as at 11, in a spiral curve to form an elastic basket or carrier 12 which will hold any object or person picked up by the fender andforced along the spring plates or arms by the travel of the car. Across the front of the said basket or carrier 12, I secure a beam or support 13 to the ends of which are hinged the holding arms 14 which are normally held close to the sides of the fender body out of the way of passing vehicles by levers 15 having hooks 16 at their ends engaging eyes 17 on the arms, as shown. Springs 18 are coiled around the hinge pins 19 and bear upon the arms 14 and the beam :13 to throw the arms to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3, when the levers 15 are disengaged from the arms. Extensions 19 are hinged to the ends of the arms 14 and lie between the said arms and the sides of the fender body when the parts are in the normal position. When the arms 14 are swung outward and forward of the fender, the extensionslt) are swung upon their hinged connections with the arms by springs 20 so that their free ends meet in advance of the fender and said free ends are provided with interlocking hooks 21 which by their engagement hold the arms against accidental release from their forwardly projecting position. In actual practice, these holding arms are cushioned or upholstered but such finish is not essential and has not been illustrated. The levers 15 are fulcrumed on posts 21 projecting rearwardly from the beam 13 and their inner ends engage loops 22 on a cross head 23 at the rear end of a slide 24: playing through the beam 13 and carried by a butter bar or spring 25 on the'front side of the beam.

Should the car approach a person or other object lying on the track without the motorman observing the obstruction in time to stop the car, the fender will scoop up the object or person and a low speed will be sufficient to carry the fender under the object far enough to permit the object to pass over the rocking retainer 9. The retainer will, of course, oscillate to permit the body to pass and will then resume its normal position with its .rear portion projecting upwardly from the scoop and, consequently, acting as a stop to prevent the body rolling forward from the fender. Should the car be traveling at a high speed, the body picked up by the fender will be carried around to and caught in the basket 12. Should a person in an upright position be caught, as he falls on to the fender he will force the buffer 25 rearward thereby vibrating the levers 15 so as to release the holding arms which will thereupon at once fly around in front of the fender body so as to catch and holdthe person until the. car. is stopped.

The device is obviously simple in construction and eflicient in operation and its many advantages are thought to be evident from the foregoing description.

Having thus fully described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. In a carfender, the combination of a suitable support, and a plurality of spring members secured to the support and eXtending above and below the same,.the upper portions of the several spring members extending forwardly in a spiral curve whereby to form a basket.

2. A car fender comprising a plurality of resilient members shaped to form a lower scoop portion and an upper basket portion communicating therewith to receive there from bodies taken up thereby.

3. A car fender comprisinga scoop, and a rocking retainerhingedto the scoop and having a forwardly projecting. portion resting normally on the upper side of the scoop and a rear portion normally projecting upwardly therefrom.

4. A car fender comprisinga scoop, and a screened frame hinged upon the same, that portion of the frame in advance of the hinge lying normally upon the scoop and the portion in rear of the hinge normally projecting upward from the scoop. I

5.7In. a car fender, the combination with a fender body, of holding arms hinged to the body at the sides thereof, means to hold said arms normally rearward and close to the body, means on the upper front portion of the body to release said holding means, and means to swing the arms together in advance of the body upon release of said holding means.

6. In a car fender, the combination of a fender body, arms hinged to the sides of the body, springs acting on saidarms to swing them together in advance of the upper portion of the body, levers fulcrumed upon the body and adapted to engage saidv arms to hold them rearwardly against the action of said springs, and a butter on the body connected with the said levers to disengage.

them from the arms.

7 In. a war fender, the combination with the fender body, of holding arms mounted thereon and adapted to lie close-against the sides of the fender body or to approach each other in advance of the fender body, eX- tensions mounted on the free ends of said arms and adapted to lie between the same and the fender body or to project from the arms in alinement therewith in advance of the upper portion of the fender body, and.

means on the fender body to operate said arms.

8. In a car fender, the combination of a fender body, arms hinged to the sides of the body, springs acting'on said arms to the presence of two attesting witnesses.

, ALOYSIUS POZZI.

' Witnesses:

' JAMES MATTURRO,

'EMANUELE Rn CARLO.

Copies of'this patent maybe obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of' Paten-ts, Washington, 1). G.

my hand this 25th day of October, 1911 in 

